Neil HughesCiting Taiwanese sources, DigiTimes said speculation that Apple would end its partnership with Foxconn is unlikely to come to pass.
"Players from the component sector said such a change is unlikely to happen because product development involves collaboration on technologies that cannot be easily transferred to other makers," the report states.
This as allegations have surfaced that Apple investigated complaints about Foxconn well before the alleged suicide of a 25-year-old Chinese man last week. According to eWeek, Apple audited Foxconn in 2006 after reports surfaced in a British newspaper about supposed poor working conditions in the Chinese factories.
This month, the company's foreign factories came under fire again, as a new investigation found that 45 of the 83 factories that built iPhones and iPods in 2008 weren't paying valid overtime rates, and 23 weren't even paying some of their workers China's minimum wage.
Sun Danyong allegedly killed himself after a prototype he was responsible for — reportedly a fourth-generation iPhone — went missing. Prior to his death, friends said he told them he was subjected to "unbearable interrogation techniques" by Foxconn employees, leading some to believe he was beaten. Sun reportedly had his property seized and was held in solitary confinement before he jumped from a 12-story building last week.
As the story began to spread, Apple issued a response.
"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death," an Apple spokesperson said. "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."
Chinese newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily, as relayed by DigiTimes, said Foxconn has reached a settlement with the family of Sun. The paper said it obtained closed-circuit TV footage of Sun's interviews, but stated there was no indication that he was beaten.
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
33 Comments
Changing the supplier will not make a difference. Putting some non-Chinese Apple staff into the factory 24/7 and running an independent complaint center, instead of relying on annual spot-checks might...
Here is the article:
Rodney Chan, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Friday 24 July 2009] Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is said to have reached a preliminary agreement with the family of an engineer who is believed to have killed himself after losing a prototype unit of Apple's next-generation iPhone.
The Southern Metropolis Daily ? which first reported the death of engineer, Sun Danyong, at Foxconn's massive manufacturing base in Shenzhen, China ? did not indicate the terms of the agreement.
But the paper said Sun's body was already cremated on July 22.
Apple, which has Foxconn make many of its products at the Shenzhen base, has confirmed the death of the engineer, and an Apple spokesperson in Hong Kong has been cited by the Associated Press as saying that "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."
The remark is apparently a response to allegations that Sun had been mistreated and even beaten by managers investigating the loss of the device.
The Southern Metropolis Daily on July 23 said it had obtained CCTV footage of the interviews where Sun was questioned by managers, but there was no indication in the footage that the engineer was beaten.
But the news has failed to convince skeptics, the paper said, citing some readers as questioning whether the footage could really clear Foxconn of the beating allegations.
Some other readers said the case highlighted Foxconn's alleged violation of human rights by searching the engineer's dormitory room for the lost device.
Some questions may never be answered, such as what really drove the engineer to kill himself, or how the device was lost. And Apple is unlikely to confirm what actually was lost.
The body has been cremated......already. There goes the chance for an independent autopsy. A settlement with his family? How much was the kid's life worth I wonder.....a year's worth of rice to feed the family?
They are really trying hard to sweep this one under the rug huh? Where is the justice?
Will the tablet help people forget about this? Mactouch ftw.....not.
Here is the article:
The body has been cremated......already. There goes the chance for an independent autopsy. A settlement with his family? How much was the kid's life worth I wonder.....a year's worth of rice to feed the family? They are really trying hard to sweep this one under the rug huh? Where is the justice? Will the tablet help people forget about this? Mactouch ftw.....not.
Whatever. There's an investigation. And all the factories are the same. If the factory broke any laws... then Apple is responsible to take measures to fix things. But they didn't push the kid out the window.
Whatever. There's an investigation. And all the factories are the same. If the factory broke any laws... then Apple is responsible to take measures to fix things. But they didn't push the kid out the window.
They might as well have. And those Foxconn bastards sure as hell did! If those are the types of people Apple insists on doing buisness with then they are accessories to murder! How the hell am I supposed to bring myself to purchase future Apple products knowing this?
They might as well have. And those Foxconn bastards sure as hell did! If those are the types of people Apple insists on doing buisness with then they are accessories to murder! How the hell am I supposed to bring myself to purchase future Apple products knowing this?
Well said. It is refreshing to see someone hold Apple accountable for such things unlike most of the people on this forum that worship at the Apple and Jobs altar!